Oscars 2013 – Part 1

I did eight dishes inspired by the best picture nominees for our Oscar party this year. I planned nine, but Pearl didn’t want to nap so there was no time for the “Zero Dark Meat Meatballs”, a reprise of “There Will Not be Blood Meatballs.” Oh well…

Above is a shot of the almost full spread. A big thanks to my friend Justin for helping to take photos as I frantically finished cooking, Ryan washed dishes, and Pearl wandered around wondering why the furniture was rearranged in the front room.

Let’s kick things off with “The Honest Abe”, a very tasty concoction courtesy of a bar that Ryan visited while shooting a travelogue show that he co-created called “Pub Crawl”. I didn’t make these, but I had one, and it was gooooood. I think with more than one I would have started to get real honest, everyone. It was composed of whiskey (Irish, in honor of Daniel Day Lewis), Cointreau, and lemon. Thanks to Alexis and Davidson for manning the bar and doing such a great job with these.

Next up we have “Silver Lining Nut Cups”. For these I used the recipe for Curried Cashew Crunch from The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook. Despite everything these touched turning yellow from the turmeric, I love this recipe, and I’ll make it again and again. It’s salty, sweet, savory, crunchy, chewy… good stuff.

These you already know – “S’mour” Bars! I hadn’t seem “Amour” when I first made these. Needless to say, this time around, they were seasoned with tears and sighs.

And to end with a bang, let’s take a look at “Les MiserabBRIE”. I served two different types of brie from my new hero, Miyoko Schinner. Her cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese, is incredible. I really feel like it’s changed my life. A bold statement, but one that barely scratches the surface of what cheese meant to me in my pre-vegan days.

The brie pictured above is the version from her book. Below is a version she wrote for a VegNews article. I decided to bake it in some vegan crescent dough to mix things up. The second brie took longer to make, but was SO WORTH IT. It was devoured, and I can’t wait to make it again. I promise that I’ll do a review of the book soon. Chasing a one-year-old around all day is tiring, you guys.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Oscar party dishes. Did you guys watch the show? What did you think of it? Did you make any special vegan food for the occasion?